Invalid Baptisms

REV. WILLIAM SAUNDERS

Recently, a relative in Quebec told me that in her diocese, 295 baptisms had been declared invalid because they werent done properly. Could you please explain this further? How could this have happened?

The
media in Montreal recently reported that the Diocese of St. Jerome disclosed that
295 baptisms of children in the parish of Pointe-Calumet had been declared invalid.
Beginning in 1991, a layperson was officiating baptisms. She would allow the parents
to pour holy water on their child' s
forehead, as she pronounced blessings. Apparently, no one noticed the problem
until 1996 when a grandmother, who was strong in her faith and knowledgeable,
recognized the error and reported it to the bishop. Since that time, the diocese
has been contacting the families privately, offering to baptize the children who
were invalidly baptized.

Given this sad state of affairs, every Catholic
ought to know how to baptize a child: The essential rite of the sacrament, as
detailed in the Catechsim, is as follows: "Baptism is performed in
the most expressive way by triple immersion in the baptismal water. However, from
ancient times, it has also been able to be conferred by pouring the water three
times over the candidate' s head. In
the Latin Church, this triple infusion is accompanied by the minister' s words: I baptize you in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

In the
Eastern liturgies, the catechumen turns toward the East and the priest says, The
servant of God, N., is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. At the invocation of each person of the Most Holy Trinity,
the priest immerses the candidate in the water and raises him up again" (nos.
1239, 1240). (These directives are found in the Introduction to the Rite of
Infant Baptism, issued by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, 1969.)
Any deviation from this formula invalidates the sacrament.

The ordinary
ministers of the sacrament of baptism are the bishop and the priest, and in the
Latin Church, also a deacon (no. 1256). Only they can perform the full ritual
comprising the sacrament of baptism.

Nevertheless, any person in an emergency
can baptize by immersing the person in water three times or pouring water over
the person' s head three times while
invoking the Holy Trinity. For example, one would say, "I baptize you in
the name of the Father (pour), and of the Son (pour), and of the Holy Spirit (pour).
This is the essential rite of the sacrament. Of course, the person performing
the baptism must have the proper intention, namely "to will to do what the
Church does when she baptizes" (no. 1256). Again, any deviation from this
formula invalidates the sacrament.

In certain circumstances, such as a
parish that does not have a resident priest, the bishop may delegate a lay person
to baptize on a regular basis: "When the necessity of the Church warrants
it and when ministers are lacking, lay persons... can also supply for certain
of their offices, namely, to exercise the ministry of the word, to preside over
liturgical prayers, to confer baptism, and to distribute Holy Communion in accord
with the prescriptions of law" (Code of Canon Law, 230.3).

Now
back to the story: The layperson in question did not baptize because she violated
the essential rite of the sacrament. Having the parents pour holy water over the
child's head while she said blessings, incantations,
or whatever, does not constitute the sacrament. For this reason, the diocese now
has to baptize the 295 children in question. Sadly, she was not qualified to assume
this serious responsibility in the parish, and the diocese was negligent in training
and supervising her.

Even more sadly, the situation continued for years
until a grandmother recognized the error. Obviously, many people did not know
their Faith well enough to have recognized the error. The story underscores the
need for every Catholic to know the Faith, and to know how to baptize in case
of an emergency.

Acknowledgement

This
article is reprinted with permission from Arlington Catholic Herald.

The Author

Father William Saunders is pastor of Our Lady of Hope parish in Potomac Falls, Virginia. He is dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College. The above article is a "Straight Answers" column he wrote for the Arlington Catholic Herald. Father Saunders is the author of Straight Answers, a book based on 100 of his columns, and Straight Answers II.